This Day in History. 1851 - Isaac Singer was issued a patent on the double-headed sewing machine. 1865 - Disinfectant was used for the first time during surgery by Joseph Lister. 1867 - U.S. President Andrew Johnson sparked a move to impeach him when he defied Congress by suspending Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton. 1877 - Thomas Edison invented the phonograph and made the first sound recording. 1879 - The first National Archery Association tournament took place in Chicago, IL. 1898 - The Spanish-American War was ended with the signing of the peace protocol. The U.S. acquired Guam, Puerto Rico and the Philippines. Hawaii was also annexed. 1915 - Of Human Bondage, by William Somerset Maugham, was first published. 1918 - Regular airmail service began between Washington, DC, and New York City. 1937 - Red Skelton appeared on network radio for the first time on the Rudy Vallee Show on NBC. 1939 - The Wizard of Oz premiered in Oconomowoc, WI. Judy Garland became famous for the movies song Somewhere Over the Rainbow. The movie premiered in Hollywood on August 15th. 1960 - The balloon satellite Echo One was launched by the U.S. from Cape Canaveral, FL. It was the first communications satellite. 1964 - Mickey Mantle set a major league baseball record when he hit home runs from both the left and ride sides of the plate in the same game. 1969 - The Boston Celtics were sold for $6 million. At the time it was the highest price paid for a pro basketball team. 1973 - Jack Nicklaus won his 14th major golf title. The win broke the record that had been held by Bobby Jones for 50 years. 1981 - IBM unveiled its first PC. 1986 - It was announced by NASA that they had selected a new rocket design for the space shuttle. The move was made in an effort at correcting the flaws that were believed to have been responsible for the Challenger disaster. 1986 - Rod Carew became the first player in the history of the California Angels franchise to have his uniform (#29) retired. 1992 - The U.S., Canada, and Mexico announced that the North American Free Trade Agreement had been created after 14 months of negotiations. 1993 - U.S. President Clinton lifted the ban on rehiring air traffic controllers that had been fired for going on strike in 1981. 1994 - Major league baseball players went on strike rather than allow team owners to limit their salaries. The strike lasted for 232 days. As a result, the World Series was wiped out for the first time in 90 years. 1998 - Swiss banks agreed to pay $1.25 billion as restitution to World War II Holocaust victims. 1999 - Hang Thu Thi Ngyuen shot an arrow from a bow with her feet on Guinness World Records: Primetime and hit a target that was 16 feet and 5 inches away.
Posted on: Tue, 12 Aug 2014 14:31:14 +0000
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